Sanchin

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三戰
Japanese:	sanchin
Mandarin Pinyin:	sānzhàn
Min Nan POJ:	saⁿ-chiàn
Literally	"three battles"

Best known by its Japanese name, Sanchin is a kata of Fujianese origin that is considered to be the core of several styles, the most well-known being the Goju Ryu and Uechi Ryu styles of Karate as well as the Chinese martial arts of Fujian White Crane, Five Ancestors, and the Tiger-Crane Combination style associated with Ang Lian-Huat. Tam Hon taught a style that was called simply "Saam Jin" ("Sanchin" in Cantonese). The name Sanchin, meaning three battles, is sometimes interpreted as the battle to unify the mind, body, and spirit; there are other interpretations of it, however.

The Sanchin routine uses only its namesake stance and is carried out with controlled breathing (ibuki breathing) - only half exhilation so that you never fully exhale. Inhalation and exhalation are performed in unison with the various blocking and striking movements. In the most commonly taught versions, emphasis is placed on the tension of the practitioners' muscles, and movement of the body as a solid, stable unit, with only the moving part relaxing a little. The Chinese and Uechi-Ryu version uses open hands while other Japanese versions tend to use closed fists. Certain schools of Five Ancestors kung fu, most noticeably those hailing from the Chee Kim-Thong lineage, employ minimal tension during execution. This is intended to facilitate the correct training of qi (or ki).

The version of Sanchin used by most styles of Karate was developed by Goju Ryu founder Chōjun Miyagi and uses a very strong, tense closed fist "push". In Uechi Ryu the practice of Sanchin is closer to the Chinese version with faster spear hand strikes a little snake like.

1 The Sanchin stance
- 1.1 Technique
- 1.2 Shime
2 See also
3 External links

[edit] The Sanchin stance

Note that the following description does not apply to the Chinese Sānzhàn stance.

The narrow (shoulder width) upright "pigeon-toed" foot position of the Sanchin stance (Japanese: sanchin dachi) balances stability in two directions (front and side) with the flexible waist rotation needed for strong punches and kicks, whilst the hips remain forward and stable to maintain a rooted stance. The turned-in position of the front knee and the bent back knee help protect the groin from kicks.

[edit] Technique

The rear foot should be facing forward or slightly turned in. The front foot should be placed 1 shoulder width apart turned in at 45°. The toes of the back foot should line up with the heel of the front foot. The knees should be bent in towards each other. Hips, body, and shoulders should face forwards. The spine should be straight.

[edit] Shime

Some styles use Sanchin as a method of checking strength and posture, as well as concentration. All hits directed towards the karateka are done at the end of the punch, when they are in their most tense position. Most Goju-ryu schools use the following checking procedure.

Light to heavy slap to the shoulders. This checks that the shoulders are relaxed, but tense. It also tests to see if the karateka's stance will buckle under the blow.
Light tapping to the lats. This is to check if the karateka is holding proper form with their arms, and squeezing their elbows in.
Checking the legs. From behind, slap the front of the hamstrings, and then the calves.
Fingers to the back of the neck. This is a reminder to fix posture.
Kick. From the rear, kick to the groin. If the karateka is in proper Sanchin stance, he or she will be able to trap the kick with the inner thighs.
Stomach check. Light to heavy slapping of the stomach, open palm. This reminds the karateka to regulate breathing and push out with the stomach.
Posture. Check the posture by hooking, open palmed, the wrists, and guiding the punch, while applying resistance. Also, when stepping forward, give a little pull to check balance and stepping method.

Uechi-ryu has two ways of testing Sanchin, the so-called "hard testing" and "soft testing." Soft testing follows the Goju style, with some minor variances. The hard teaching is quite a bit different, but usually only in terms of strike intensity, with the targeted areas being similar. Note that Uechi-ryu's sanchin is slightly different than Goju-ryu's. It is similar to Goju's Sanchin Dai Ni in terms of footwork, although Uechi has three more positions at the end of the kata, and the strikes are different (open hand Uechi versus closed hand Goju).

From the front:

1. With hands in open hand Sanchin position (palms facing upwards, elbows pulled in, arms forming a "V" shape) the teacher strikes strongly downwards with open palms onto the testee's fingertips.
2. A strong double strike inwards attacking the wrists or forearms.
3. A strong double strike inwards onto the upper shoulders.
4. Three strong closed fist punches into the stomach, ranging from just below the navel, to just below the solar plexus. Only muscle mass is targeted, because muscle can absorb strong strikes well. Strikes to the solar plexus are considered bad-form by some, and completely forbidden by others because of the dangers involved.
5. The student completes three sanchin strikes and turns.

From behind:

6. Two strong strikes downwards onto the trapezius muscle
7. Two strong strikes inwards onto the deltoids.
8.Three strong closed fist strikes to the latissimus dorsi.
9. One hard kick to the rear leg thigh, one to the rear leg calf, and then one between the legs to confirm correct leg position.
10. Double bushiken/haito strikes to the kidney area (ridge hand strike-using the thumb side edge of the hand to strike)
11. Testee takes one step. Tester repeats 6-9.

From the front:

12. The instant the testee turns again, he is immediately attacked to the fingers as in step 1, and then quickly punched in the upper stomach area. (NOT the solar plexus)

From the side:

13. After completing three more sanchin strikes forwards, the testee turns 90 degrees to the left for a circular block and is attacked once to the rear leg thigh, once to the rear leg calf, and one slap to the stomach.
14. Testee completes a horse stance and turns 180 degrees to the right. Tester does same three attacks as in 12.
15. Testee turns 90 degrees to the left and is again facing forwards. This usually ends the testing, but sometimes the teacher will do one or two soft strikes to the stomach to ensure the tester is still flexing correctly.